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Modern Alorian History
25th Century Aloria The Capitalist Age (2427-2445) Early 25th century Aloria was characterized by a laissez faire, free market Economy and domination by a wealthy, business elite. The government stayed out of the affairs of business, and indeed the interests of the two were often one and the same. The a member of the Rockyfeller Family, the wealthiest family in Aloria at that time, was a man named Joe F. Rockyfeller, brother to the owner of Rockyfeller Incorporated. The Rockyfellers had long been active in politics, funding the efforts of the powerful Constitution Party(which originally started as a family values party) to keep the government out of its affairs. The CP was more or less the political front of the Rockyfellers and their business interests, working alongside the more powerful Moderate Libertarian Party (which was independent of the Rockyfellers, and different from the CP on a few political matters, most notably being less militaristic) to keep Aloria's economy largely laissez faire. The two political parties very well completely dominated the politics of those times and Joe Rockyfeller was President of Aloria from 2427 to 2445. Government spending was extremely small, as was the role of government in Alorian Life. What Alorians can attribute to these political giants is the current seperation of the Head of State and Head of Government, and thus the current Alorian political system. The Big Deal (2445-2484) In 2445, Helmut Helmut was elected President. A member of the Democratic Rationalist Party, previously in the opposition, he campaigned on the promise of a Big Deal with the working people of Aloria, and was helped by the numerous scandals then surrounding the Rockyfeller Administration, significantly damaging Joe Rockyfeller's reputation and popularity which was very high in his first few terms. presided over the enactment of many early, Big Deal economic reforms.]] A minimum wage was established, and government spending increased, though still remaining markedly low. Helmut was later followed by fellow Democratic Rationalist Solomon Kane, who continued his Big Deal policies and was President from 2450 to 2474 (on and off with MLP candidate Silvio Bento). Throughout his presidency however, there was much resistance from the largely Libertarian Parliament, and ultimately the Big Deal was not fully implemented. Still, the election of Helmut Helmut and Solomon Kane, and the era of the Big Deal in general, gave greater strength to a political movement whose goal was to increase the role of government in Alorian life. The Mansfield Era(2484-2520) The longest serving President in modern Alorian History was Libertarian Newspaper editor and College Professor, Daniel Mansfield. He was first elected in 2484. His election signaled the end of the Big Deal, as government expansion ceased and in some respects was even scaled back. Meanwhile, the Liberal/Progressive ''b''loc remained in the min''o''rity opp''o''sition in parliament. Thus, the Li''b''ertarian Agenda remained the rule of Alorian Governance. Meanwhile, the Rockyfeller Family withdrew from politics, seeking instead to become purely private citizens and disbanding the Constitution Party, many of whose constituents simply shifted to the MLP. After a 21 year near continuous presidency, Mansfield was defeated for reelection in 2505 by Jerome Resso, a candidate from the Progressive League for Advanced Nation (now the Party for Democratic Action and Progress), at the time a minor party in parliament. Just three years later however, after an uneventful first term, he was defeated in a rematch with Mansfield. Still, it proved that the powerful Moderate Libertarian Party and their leader Daniel Mansfield could be defeated, and the liberal progressive movement was once again inspired. Claiming a mandate from the people, Mansfield led the still Libertarian Parliament in making massive cuts to the already thin budget including a complete defunding of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The move was strongly opposed by the liberal progressives in parliament. 26th Century The Progressive Renaissance (2520-2535) Colton White of the Democratic Rationalist Party and Nelson Cudderboard the Alorian Public Union together started the Progressive Coalition, a multi-party coalition with the intention of gaining a parliamentary majority and the Presidency in the election of 2520. The radical spending cuts Mansfield had made to the budget, along with public perception that he was becoming senile (he was in his 90s) and a personal tragedy with his family that made him personally unwilling to run again, all came together to help elect Colton White as President in 2520. The Progressive Coalition also gained control of Parliament, who elected to appoint Nelson Cudderboard as Prime Minister. The election of 2520 was a major turnaround in Alorian politics, with the Progressives winning big everywhere and pushing the Libertarians into the minority. of the Alorian Public Union and Colton White of the Democratic Rationalists were for 12 years partners in their leadership of the Progressive Coalition and of Aloria throughout the Progressive Rennassiance]] This began the Progressive Renaissance. Unlike the Big Deal of half a century ago, this time a clear parliamentary majority of the Progressive Coalition led to the passage of much on the progressive agenda, including a a public health care system, public education, and more funding for both those ministries as well as infrastructure and a refunding of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After Colton White's two terms as President, he stepped down to become Prime Minister, while Cudderboard soon after won election and became President, so that the two switched roles. For 15 years, the two were partners in their leadership of Aloria during the Progressive Renaissance. After Cudderboard's second term however, the Progressive Coalition fell apart over internal conflicts. Moderate Libertarian Party candidate Vincento Vanzetti V was able to win election to the Presidency in 2535, and this ended the Progressive Renaissance. The Politics of Polarity (2535-2558) For 19 years, the MLP controlled the executive branch with President Vanzetti, but Parliament controlled the appointment of cabinet ministers, and parliament remained under the control of the Progressives. The result was a political system characterized by polarity, with parliament appointing APU's Hartsen Caddy, in the words of one member of parliament a "fire breathing partisan" to the head of government position of Prime Minister. Little movement was made in either the Libertarian or Progressive direction, as while the left had control of parliament, they failed to unite together on a presidential ticket, and Vincento Vanzetti was, throughout his multiple terms, a very popular President. Vanzetti was not popular with everyone, however. A mass demonstration against his governance in the capitol city of Libertia in 2540 ended in what demonstration leaders called a "police riot," with capital police attempting to break it up once it got close to the Presidential Residence. The leaders of the demonstration, Utilities Union leader Thomas Fenwick and leftist economist Samuel Went, founded the Socialist Alliance, in order to expand the protest more into the political arena. While at first a very minor party, it eventually grew into a strong political faction, the first strong socialist party in Alorian politics in centuries. Vanzetti eventually retired from politics and the MLP candidate was defeated that next election (2554), not by a Progressive but a more centrist/center right candidate, Albert Mora. Mora sought to curb the polarity of Alorian politics of the time, but to little avail. Even though Vanzetti was gone, and a more centrist candidate was President, and even though Hartsen Caddy had since stepped down from the Head of Government, politics became even more partisan. Mora ended up being a one term, three year president, and the MLP briefly regained the executive office with President Jack Vincent Jr. The Return of the Progressive Coalition and the Intervention in Luthori (2558-2570) Eventually, the Progressive Coalition reunited and was reborn as the Second Progressive Coalition. The Socialist Alliance was welcomed into it, and became the left wing of a leftist coalition. Libertarian Jack Vincent Jr. was a very unpopular president, and the Progressive dominated parliament voted for early elections, giving him only a one year term. The Coalition fielded candidate Ben Thompson for President (from the coalition's more centrist wing), who won in 2558, marking the beginning of a government completely dominated by the Progressive Coalition. Parliament appointed William Fletcher, a Socialist Alliance Member, as Prime Minister. The War of Luthori Succession soon after came to Aloria's attention. The Luthori Imperial Diet had voted to amend its constitution to abolish the country's entrenched monarchy. Imperial forces rebelled, enlisting the aid of fellow monarchist governments from around Terra. As it appeared Republican forces would be defeated, talks began in Alorian leadership circles of a possible intervention to "promote democracy abroad." Aloria's covert agency, DRACO, began operations in Luthori, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent weapons and aid to the Republican Militias, and 1,000 Alorian Advisors were sent as well. The Moderate Libertarian Party was the biggest opponent of the intervention in Luthori, sharply protesting any Alorian involvement. Much went into the next elections of 2565. The election would decide what action Aloria took with regard to the war in Luthori. Socialist Prime Minister William Fletcher, a big proponent of intervention in Luthori, ran as the candidate of the Progressive Coalition. The MLP ran former one-term President Jack Vincent Jr. as the anti-war candidate. The election was a big win for Fletcher, who soon after sent 150,000 Alorian Troops to Luthori. The country was currently in a cease-fire and Fletcher's intent was to strengthen the Republican side of the peace talks. Eventually, the war came to an end, the peace talks successful. While throughout their deployment there was a cease-fire, 548 Alorian soldiers were killed in guerrilla raids. Economic Prosperity and the Pinnacle of Progressive Control (2570-2587) The next decade saw unprecedented economic growth in Aloria. This helped the popularity of the Progressive Coalition, as well as President Fletcher and Prime Minister, Democratic Rationalist Millicent Smith. Fletcher's presidency ended in 2577, and the coalition ran Prime Minister Smith to succeed him. She ran in 2577. That year saw the pinnacle of Progressive Coalition control, with Millicent Smith getting a majority of the vote in the first round of voting (which had not happened since the 23rd century) and the coalition winning a total of 446 seats in the 750 member parliament. The first issue facing President Smith was a second Civil War in the Luthori. Smith, espousing the principles of the "Fletcher Doctrine" of Alorian intervention on behalf of Artanian self-determination, sent a naval task force. The action was meant to send a message to Alduria, who were threatening to send a ground force to the country. Fortunately, Alorian intervention was never escalated, and despite heightened tensions, the issue was resolved and Alorian military forces returned home. While Smith also was an enormously popular President, her two terms were not without controversy. The Minister of Justice, Horatio Riley Herman, was much criticized for pursuing a policy of political repression for the MLP. The Progressive controlled parliament helped him, voting on numerous occasion to censure the party because of his accusations that they were uncooperative in his numerous investigations, much of which were frivolous anyway. Parliament even voted to appoint Herman Prime Minister. This was controversial, as to many he was a figure of political repression The Libertarian Revolution (2587-2623) The economic boom created more wealth for many Alorians, and soon many of these now prospering Alorians wanted the government to lower the high taxation on those upper middle and wealthy incomes, to cut spending to achieve that, and to stop redistributing wealth. This, along with the controversy associated with the Progressive Coalition, led to the Libertarian Revolution. The Libertarian bloc once again gained control of parliament, the MLP fielded Jose Alvarez for President in 2587, and Alvarez won a resounding victory. From then until the 2620's, the libertarians and conservatives controlled parliament and the executive branch. The Second Progressive Coalition collapsed. The size of government was cut dramatically. Whereas government spending once accounted for 22% of GDP, after the cuts made in the Libertarian Revolution, it decreased to less then a percent. Taxes were brought down, the income and corporate taxes completely cut. 27th Century Rise of Nationalism and Populism and the Kurmal Civil War (2623-2633) While the Libertarians remained in control of government, the 2620s saw the emergence of new political alignment, a triple partisan political system of Marxists on the one end, who sought to radically overthrow the capitalist system taken to its maximum by the Libertarians, the Nationalists on the other side who sought to throw out and keep out immigrants from abroad, as well as to isolate Aloria from the rest of Terra and turn it into a near Theocratic state, and the Libertarians in the midst of it all, attempting to maintain their control of the government. The Marxists saw little success in mounting serious opposition to the Libertarians on a national level. The Nationalists however, were able to. Unpopular MLP President Carla Franco was defeated by Nationalist candidate Bernard Rosenberg in 2626. While at first it seemed that the triple partisan alignment in parliament facing Rosenberg would keep him from creating an effective government, he was able to effectively compromise with the MLP of the Libertarian bloc, and gain ground on a number of issues, including appointing a new cabinet, with MLP billionaire playboy Pierce Farnsworth as Prime Minister. The Nationalists and Marxists (led by the Communist Party of Aloria) were deeply opposed to one another, and the latter was completely left out of governing in any way, shape or form, even though they had control of a quarter of parliament. The Rosenberg government sought to further expel the Marxists from any sort of political, public, or civil involvement. Communist Party leader Lucien Kannaly gave a speech in protest against the Nationalist/Libertarian government, and against capitalism, calling for the overthrow of both. Rosenberg and the Nationalists accused Kannaly of treason and sedition for having given this speech, and called for his arrest. He was detained, but was broken loose by armed Communist militiamen, and he fled to the mountains of Kurmal in northern Aloria, a Communist militia accompanying him, launching a rebellion against the government of Aloria. The Communists overthrew the local government of Kurmal, with a last ditch effort to evacuate the civilian population funded by the private fortune of Prime Minister Pierce Farnsworth launched in response to this. This began the Kurmal Civil War. The initial military response made by the Alorian government was largely ineffective, and President Rosenberg was blamed for it. And so while Carla Franco's popularity had previously been at an all time low, she was able to defeat Rosenberg in a rematch. Around this time, the Communists also sent pleas of help to their former Marxist allies, the Revolutionary Socialist Part, but the RSP refused to organize a paramilitary force, instead holding ineffective labor strikes The head of state and head of government positions then switched parties, as the MLP gained control of the presidency, Nationalist John Cassidy was appointed Prime Minister by parliament. Franco then ordered the bombing of communist military positions in Kurmal, and soon after a skirmish between communist and government forces ended in the capture of Lucien Kannaly, soon after sentenced to life imprisonment, though not before a peace deal and ceasefire was agreed to and the war ended, the Communists achieving very little except a guarantee of a negative stigma in Alorian Politics that would seemingly remain for a long time after. The Mid War Period (2633-2653) In the election of 2633 the Alorian people, tired of last decade's triple partisan system that had led to a violent civil war, voted to elect Gene Hamshee, neither a Nationalist, Marxist or Libertarian candidate. Relatively inexperienced in politics and in holding public office, Hamshee campaigned as the alternative candidate. He relied much on the more experienced Nationalist Prime Minister John Cassidy to implement many of his goals once elected. The government now firmly anti-libertarian, Cassidy and Hamshee sought to restore government activity into the economy and Alorian National life. Their program was called the "New Society", and together they established a central bank and Public Pension System. The biggest rival of the New Society was former MLP Prime Minister Pierce Farnsworth, who said that the New Society Hamshee/Cassidy were trying to create was really the "old society of big government that had existed during the high tax era of Progressive domination." Still, the New Society had the support of most Alorians, as vindicated by Hamshee's several re-elections. It fell apart however over disagreements between Cassidy and Hamshee over the role that National government should play as opposed to the role that should be played by the local, provincial government. Hamshee supported devolution, and on several key issues, Cassidy felt cheated by the President, eventually resigning. Whether or not Hamshee could govern without a Prime Minister was the big question of the day. Without the support of the Nationalists, Hamshee sought new allies in parliament, eventually enlisting the aid of the Communists. Parliament refused to appoint a new Prime Minister, however, leaving Hamshee on his own in the executive branch. Seeking much advice from his son, Minister of Internal Affairs Todd Hamshee, he was able to pass key pieces of legislation providing for the complete subsidization of college education and pharmaceuticals, proving his ability to work on his own. This came at a cost, however. By the end of his 8 years in office, rampant Communist influence on his administration was apparent to all, at a time when the communists were still blamed for the violence of the Kurmal War. Not seeking office again in 2641, Hamshee even pardoned Communist rebel leader Lucien Kannaly, citing the need to move on from the divisive days of the past decade. Pierce Farnsworth, critically objecting the largely unpopular move, ran in opposition, and won popular election to the Presidency in 2641. He tried to cancel Hamshee's pardon of Kannaly, but was prevented by the courts. Meanwhile, he at first was unable to restore and implement the libertarian agenda in Aloria, due to resistance from parliament, who appointed Todd Hamshee Prime Minister to lead an opposition against Farnsworth. Then the Rockyfeller Family, still after many years the wealthiest family with ownership of the most powerful corporation in Aloria, once again got involved in politics, this time throwing their clout behind a new Constitution Party(eventually to be renamed the Industrialist Party of Aloria during the early years of NWO domination), led by the young upstart Wes Rockyfeller. They had great success in the parliamentary elections of 2645, and later that year, Wes Rockyfeller became Farnsworth's Prime Minister, kicking Hamshee out. The two worked together to scale back many of the programs implemented in the New Society. The two seemed to push too hard however, as in the next elections they were defeated. The first front runner in the opposition against them was Todd Hamshee, however, the unpopularity of his father in the waning days of his administration, coupled with his loss of the Head of Government were problematic enough to instead push the Populist Party (at the time leading the opposition, the Populists were the legacy party of Hamshee's New Society) to instead nominate Minister of Health Craig Joseph Leif for President. Leif defeated Farnsworth for President in the election of 2649, and Rockyfeller also was defeated for parliamentary reappointment to Prime Ministership. That post was eventually filled by the resurgent Socialist Alliance member, Henry Lewis Canning. War and Occupation: The New World Order (2653-2672) Leif was popularly reelected with the support of the Alorian left in 2653. His Prime Minister, Socialist Henry Canning, meanwhile toured Terra, coming back to Aloria and informing parliament of the ongoing events of the archipelago nation of Al-Badara. A new regime had taken over, the Soviet Reich, and was tyrannically repressing its Arab and Jewish minority populations, to the point of genocide. The Soviet Reich was a member of the so called "New World Order" International alliance, one of the most powerful and militaristic the world had ever seen. Canning argued for a multinational, humanitarian intervention on behalf of the country's persecuted peoples. General Patrick Kannaly, a nephew of the former rebel leader Lucien who had fought for the Alorian Army during the Kurmal War, former the Alorian Expeditionary Brigade towards that end. The AEB was all voluntary, and was recruited for by the Populists, Socialists, and Industrialists. Volunteers came from nations abroad as well. A total of 2.5 million volunteered for the AEB. The fact that it was started and led by a Communist helped to mainstream that party back into Alorian politics. The AEB never served its intended purpose. Before it could take action, Craig Joseph Leif was assassinated by a terror cell operating in Aloria with connections to the New World Order. Canning then succeeded Leif to the Presidency. Then, the New World order declared war on Aloria and launched a nuclear bombardment of the country, crippling its infrastructure and destroying its cities, murdering millions of Alorian civilians in the process. Then, the NWO ground force invading, quickly conquering making progress in land from the beaches Sildar and Ultran. Foreign volunteers of the AEB came to the rescue and landed on the beaches behind NWO front lines, meanwhile the Alorian divisions of the AEB and the Alorian Regular Army regrouped, and fought back against the NWO Armies, which greatly outnumbered and outgunned them. Still, the the new President, Henry Canning, remained defiant, continuing the fight against the NWO. The war waged on, battle after battle waged in the rubble of destroyed Alorian cities and her torn up countrysides, a country already destroyed by nuclear attack became a battlefield between a nation holding onto its life versus a foe that outnumbered them 3 to 1. In the Alorian lands occupied by the NWO, the populace was virtually enslaved and forced to work in labor camps. Millions had already been killed in the nuclear attack and in the cross fire of the ensuing war. Millions more died in the inhumane enslavement of the NWO. Distraught over the war, the Alorian people left in Free Aloria (not occupied by the NWO) voted in and out a whole string of leaders, Canning, Rocyfeller, Stanhope, Hoover, none were able to find an end to the war. Meanwhile, more and more Alorian land was taken over by the NWO. Their were various ceasefires between the opposing sides, where Aloria would try to negotiate for peace and meanwhile attempt to regroup its forces. When peace plans were drawn up by the foreign ministry of Aloria, they were often turned down by the NWO. A few proposals were made that would have essentially made Aloria a puppet of the NWO. Orion Patrick, a veteran of the war, founded Veterans for Victory, to protest any such proposal that would submit Aloria to virtual NWO rule. Massive protests were often led by Patrick in Libertia. Similar protests were led by former president Canning and former Prime Minister Todd Hamshee. On the other side of the spectrum, the IPA began to support joining the NWO to save Aloria from total annihilation. Former Prime Minister Wes Rockyfeller led the movement, and himself joined the NWO. The NWO then installed him as the occupational governor of Aloria. Rockyfeller was treated as a traitor by the Alorian government, a warrant for his arrest (which was impossible due to him being in the NWO occupied side of Aloria by this time) was put out and all of his assets nationalized. However, he was viewed as a savior by many in occupied Aloria, as once he was made governor, the labor camps were closed, the enslavement ended, the massacres ceased. The war continued, and Aloria lost more and more ground. Finally, all of Aloria was taken over by the NWO, who gave it to Rockyfeller and the Industrialists in the form of the The Industrialist Governorship of West Aloria and the Alorian Communist Party (who had independently worked a deal out with the NWO) created the Worker's State of East Aloria. Wes Rockyfeller created a massive corporation, named Rockygroup, that virtually privately owned all of Aloria, He was the richest man in all of Alorian History. The Communist NWO backed government, led by Patrick Kannaly, meanwhile was clandestinely working against the NWO, secretly giving sanctuary to the now underground, legitimate Alorian government. War and Occupation: Aloria's Liberation ( 2672-2678) In 2675, after three years of rule by the Rockyfeller government backed up by occupying NWO soldiers, the elderly Todd Hamshee led a march, accompanied by Henry Canning and most members of the underground parliament, as well as thousands of others. The goal of the march was to force the Rockyfeller government to hand over domestic control to a democratically elected government. The march grew exponentially after a stirring speech by Henry Canning in Concordia, clandestinely published throughout Aloria and considered one of the best in Alorian history. From Kurmal, to Ultran to Sildar to Krentori to Gavonshire, from city to still destroyed city, across a land still devastated by war, they marched. They faced repression, arrests and police brutality in all places. Then they came to Pax, a mere miles away from the capitol in Libertia (where the Rockyfeller Government was now based). There, they were accompanied by a rebel militia assembled by Orion Patrick, called Comrades for Freedom, Victory, and Democracy, or Comrades FVD (the whole march has come to be known as the FVD March). Todd Hamshee had died of heart attack along the way. Now leading the march was former minister of finance Harry Harpe, who had overseen the nationalization of Rockyfeller's property. There, numerous speeches were given by the march's leaders, a march now numbering half a million, including Comrades FVD. They demanded a resolution from Rockyfeller, for him to at least allow parliament to have control of domestic affairs. The next day, Rockyfeller appeared on Television. He told the people of Aloria that his intention was never to sell Aloria out, but to save it. He joined the New World Order because in doing so, he was able to stop the persecution of Alorians and save lives. He said that he would support a "Pax Resolution" that restore a parliament with limited powers. For about a year, negotiations between the FVD leaders and Rockyfeller were conducted. Then, in 2677, the NWO collapsed. The occupation ended, the NWO armies gone. Alorians rejoiced and took pride in the fact that they may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Indeed, while the NWO was fighting in Aloria, a rebellion in Al Badara had thrown out the Soviet Reich Regime, and end the genocides taking place there. Meanwhile, the NWO had fought war after war in many places at a time since it had existed, and the resulting attrition took its toll. For whatever reason though, the NWO was gone. Comrades FVD then went through all of Aloria, liberating city after city as they came to them (a campaign characterized more by parades then combat, as the occupational government did not have the strength to resist). Libertia was liberated, and Harry Harpe temporarily made President (Aloria's first democratic elections were to take place a few years later). Wes Rockyfeller went into exile before he could be captured by the new, restored government. The was had ended, and the Reconstruction of Aloria, a land still devestated by war, was to begin. Reconstruction (2678-2695) As soon as the legitimate government of Aloria was restored, Wes Rockyfeller and other officials of his occupational government fled. Patrick Kannaly and other officials of his occupational state was pardoned by President Harpe on the basis that his government had provided sanctuary to the underground government and to NWO resistors. The restored government was dominated by Populists, Socialists, and Communists, who were allied with one another in the 4th Progressive Coalition, led by former President Henry Canning. Harpe, with the backing of the Progressive dominated Parliament, began his project of national reconstruction, Aloria in ruins, still devastated by nuclear bombardment and 25 years of war. Massive infrastructure spending was passed, to rebuild the country, as was massive spending for Health and Human Services (to help people recover from the past war torn 25 years) and massive spending for Agriculture (to restore the country's agricultural sector). Government spending grew to about 50% of the nation's GDP. Meanwhile, all industries were nationalized. This was the most state control the Alorian economy had ever seen. Harpe did this not because he favored permanent state control, but because he thought that temporary control was needed to put the economy and the country back on its feet. One area of government that decrease was military spending, the rationale being that with the war over it was not as necessary. This helped led to a big resurgence of nationalism of Aloria. War hero George Peron called for more defense spending, saying that never again should Aloria leave its self so vulnerable to foreign attack. He started a new Nationalist Party, which called for a bigger military, anti-immigration laws, and and isolationist foreign policy. While Harry Harpe easily won reelection to the presidency (Aloria's first legitimate democratic elections since the NWO took over), the Progressive Coalition lost its control of parliament while retaining a large plurality. The Nationalist Party turned out to have a program that was very popular to many Alorians in the post-war period. While the Nationalists were unable to pass most of their proposals, they did recreate many of Aloria's symbols to something more to their tastes, such as a new flag featuring the Alorian lion and a new anthem, Aloria's Triumph, referencing Aloria's ultimate victory in the NWO war (the song had been written by a socialist, but its militant and somewhat jingoistic lyrics appealed to the Nationalists). Meanwhile, the Industrialist Party and the Rockyfeller family began a public relations campaign to rebrand their image, which had been tainted by the past few years of New World Order cooperation. While the IPA opposed many of Harpe' reconstruction programs, the Rockyfeller family and all of their businesses fully cooperated with the reconstruction policies, including their nationalization by the government. Meanwhile, the idea of Wes Rockyfeller as a pragmatic savior who closed down the death camps (as opposed to a Wes Rockyfeller who selfishly betrayed his country) was pushed. Wes Rockyfeller was still, and would throughout his life remain, a condemned man, a war criminal and fugitive from the Alorian government. Still, the campaign was successful. So successful that in 2684, the IPA candidate for President was able to win the executive branch. Vera MacRam of the Industrialist Party was elected (Harry Harpe had decided not to run for a third term) on the promises of restoring capitalism to Aloria. Her party made an alliance with the Nationalist Party, and the Progressives became a minority opposition in the legislative branch. Most industries were denationalized, and government spending was cut, as were all taxes. Reconstruction continued under MacRam, but it was being slowly phased out. Rockyfeller prominence returned both in the business and political realms, and capitalism was restored to Aloria. This time also included a brief period where the threat of a monarchist Restoration where Joseph Concord, former Communist Matthew Kannaly, and one time President (as well as another former Communist) Stephan Duchard led the People's Imperial Alliance. While the Imperialists managed to get Duchard elected President, they lacked the Populist support they were counting on for an Imperial restoration, and as such, disbanded when left-wing anarchists known as the Red Star Movement began a terror campaign that started with Duchard's assassination. 28th Century Aloria New Constitution and Conservative Control (2695-2711) (2616-2712), the "Grandfather" of the Federal State, was a very popular president]] In 2695, the Centre Democrats became the largest faction in parliament. Their leader, Charles Renaldi became president. His campaign was based on a program with both left and right influences, and a promise for large devolution, constitutional changes and more international alliances on the Artanian continent. Renaldi formed a centrist government with both the conservatives and the socialist parties in it. His most glorious achievement during his first term was the installment of a new constitution. By the new amendments, Presidential power was heavily increased and Aloria was turned into a more federalist state, decreasing the influence of the national government. The amendments passed parliament, with support of the Industrialists and the Conservative Union in April 2698. The New Constitution was installed on the first of January 2699. The new constitution led to a new governmental structure in Aloria: first, only the Head of State could propose a cabinet. This decreased parliamentary powers and gave more power to the President, but also created a system with more stability and stronger governments. By this, and in the second amendment, he also increased Presidential powers by making the President both Head os State and Head of Government, dismissing the post of Prime Minister. With this act, the President had more political and executive powers, instead of the more ceremonial role they had before. In fact, the President became the real political leader of the nation. The third amendment was devolution: a new federal system was drafted, in which Provinces became States. The federal states each had their own government with more executive powers, and less dominance from the national government, with a Minister-President as head (instead of governors). Every state had his own legislature, and the national government would only direct foreign affairs, defense and the most important national issues if needed. While the new constitutional changes had support from the conservatives, the socialists were absolutely against the new constitution. During the last months of Renaldi's first term, the SA heated up parliamentary speeches by calling the Centre Democrats anti-democratic and racists (for wanting to devolve civil rights laws). Renaldi was re-elected in August 2699, with 69% of the votes, defeating socialist opponent Contadino in the second round. After his re-election, Renaldi dropped the socialists out of the government and continued his centrist cabinet with the conservatives. In 2703 he was re-elected for a third term. Economic Crisis Renaldi adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, while accelerating privatizations. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the late 2690s and 2700s. Renaldi's successor, Martin Grant, continued this neo-liberal, conservative course. The sense of stability and well being which had prevailed during the 2690s and 2700s eroded quickly, when in 2710 Aloria's Gross domestic product dropped 4% and the country officially entered a recession. With the 2711 elections, the Alorian electorate turned back to the leftists and removed the centre-right Congressional majority. A new Progressive Coalition took control of the Congress. Martin Grant was elected out of office. While the left, a 4th Progressive Coalition of Socialists, Populists, and Liberals, gained the majority of the Congress and thus claimed a mandate from the people, the extent of the mandate was limited as former Minister of Sildar Richard Johnson, a Centre Democrat not on the left, was elected President. Thus, Congress and the Presidency were in opposition to one another, and were unable to agree on a cabinet while having differing views on how to deal with the recession. After Johnson's second term started in 2715, he faced a country where unemployment had risen to a critical point, and the undesirable effects of the fixed exchange rate were showing forcefully. Johnson had been reluctant to act, though the Progressive Congress was not; they demanded that his cabinet implement far reaching policies. Johnson did eventually implement both economic stimuli and industry bailouts; the effect of these was measured. In 2719 (after a short, what at least seemed like a rebound), things get even worse. A decline in world prices for farm products, and the global economic slowdown of recent months, caused a huge decline of Aloria's export. Meanwhile, the inflation has risen. As a result of the falling prices of wheat and beef, as well as the high debts of the banks and other large companies, coupled with falling currency valuation, the stock exchanges dropped dramatically. In May 2719 the federal stock exchanges dropped to the lowest point in history. Many investors worried over their stock investments. People fearing the worst began to withdraw large sums of money from their bank accounts, turning aloriks into foreign currencies and sending them abroad, causing a run on the banks. As a result, many Alorian companies went bankrupt, and thousands lost their jobs. Newly elected president Richard M. Thompson called upon a doctrine of "Country before Self-Interest", and ended the right-wing controlled cabinet, despite being a member of the Conservative Union. He involved every member of the Progressive Coalition, along with the previous members of the cabinet; all parties in congress but the communists were in the cabinet. President Thompson described the new cabinet, "One of the only ways to solve our problems in the economy". He stated in the second Walburg Conference that Aloria would welcome help from other countries, and some did, while others rejected Aloria's plea. But even still, tensions around the now decade in decline economy continued. The most apparent discontent was expressed by labor. The number of strikes skyrocketed, and union membership soared. In 2720, a number of unions representing workers in various Rockygroup enterprises united to form RockyLabor, a union representing all employees of the mega-corporation. Eventually, RockyLabor was able to, with the help of the federal government (whose Congress was still dominated by the Progressives) buy control of 1/3 of Rockygroup's stock, as several members of the Rockyfeller family were beginning to fear the economy's decline. A couple years later, a general strike in Eqalite was held, shutting the Kurmal city down for months. The government instituted a policy of voluntary workplace democratization, whereby businesses would be encouraged to democratize through an exemption from a punitive 60% (later 55%) corporate tax. Communist Insurrection in Sildar In 2727, Roger Geranome, the Populist Minister President of Sildar, was elected President. He was the first Progressive President of the 28th century as well as the first President to have been born after the NWO war. Soon after he was elected, the economy began to improve. On the right they claimed it was because of income tax cuts that had recently been passed, the left claimed that it was economic stimulus and workplace democratization that had brought the economy back up. Whatever the reason, after around 15 years, the economy was starting to look up. But just a few months into Geranome's first term, the Communist and Socialists Party demanded even more change and revolted against the government of Aloria. The URA, a Communist/Socialist Paramilitary, took up arms in Sildar, and took by force the cities of Ceres, Sildar City, and Sildar Beach. They took much more of Sildar initially, however, the Alorian Army launched a counteroffensive limiting URA control to the metropolitan, coastal area of Sildar. The army was reluctant to advance any furthey though, as they were wary of having to many civilian casualties. Economic Recovery In 2747, former actor Paul Reagan was elected president. His main goal was to recreate the conservative government as it was at the beginning of the century under his Centre Democratic predecessors. With support of the GPA and the AP, budgets where adjusted, taxes were cut and several special programs to promote Alorian tourism and industry (the "Awesome Aloria" programs) were started in 2750's by GPA Minister of Tourism and later Prime Minister Robert Gurdon. But while Aloria experienced continuous economic progress since the 2740's, Alorian economy was being undermined by constant devaluation of the alorik and emission of excessive amounts of high-interest treasury bonds, so that, between 2743 and 2763, the excessive budget deficit build half of the deficit still plaguing the country for years. The Neptune Scandal The Neptune Scandal was the largest corruption scandal in Alorian history. It resulted from the purchase of military submarines from the Kirlawan submarine manufactorer Neptune Inc. by the Alorian in 2755, where Neptune bribed various office holders. Several politicians had to resign along the investigation into the purchase. The investigation into the purchase was started by the investigative team looking into the 2762 mysterious death of Albert Conrad, the chairman of the Centre Democrats who was found death in his appartement in February 2762, when it turned out that Conrad had knowledge about the Neptune deal. An official investigation into the deal was started in January 2763, by judge José Ramirez, when a search warrant was issued for Neptune. In the upcoming months, many members of the Centre Democratic party resigned as they were involved in the bribery scandal: John Carter, Minister of Defense for the Centre Democrats (CD) resigned on 21 March 2763. Robert Reagan, Minister of Finance, resigned from his post on 9 April 2763 and Jackson Brown, former Minister of Defense resigned on April 23th, 2763. The scandal even harmed incumbent President Benigno Arroyo (CD), who was leader of the CD shortly after the submarine purchase. Although he became leader after the bribery, he still was a MP in tat time and insiders say that he knew about the bribery. Conflicting statements in which he first denied any knowledge of the payments, then acknowledged that he was at a meeting where they were discussed, have led to massive street protests erupted demanding Arroyo's resignation. Faced with street protests and cabinet resignations Arroyo was impeached by Parliament and forced to not run for re-elections. After the 2763 elections the CD had lost a major part of its stranglehold over Alorian voters, but suprisingly the Centre Democrat presidential candidate, former federal bank governor James Washington, was elected President. In the successive 2767 general election the CD suffered one of its largest decrease in term of votes so far, receiving only 13% of the votes, becoming the fourth party in Aloria. Most of the votes went to the newly formed Conservative Party